This invention relates generally to fitted or contour bedsheets and, more particularly, to a device that aids in folding those types of bedsheets.
Nearly all users of fitted bedsheets experience difficulty while attempting to neatly fold them. Rectangular flat sheets can be quickly and easily folded by simply bringing adjacent pairs of the four square corners thereof together as many times as necessary to fold them into neat packages of uniform thickness having a desired final size. A fitted sheet, however, includes a base portion which covers the top surface of a mattress and a skirt attached to the periphery of the base portion of the sheet. The skirt includes corner pockets that fit over the corners of the mattress to hold the fitted sheet in place. The corner pockets are painstakingly difficult to align in order to neatly fold the sheet. A fitted sheet that is folded like a flat sheet with the ends and sides of the skirt first folded over the base portion results in a folded package having bulges resulting from the overlapping of the skirt with the base portion of the sheet. These bulges occur particularly at the corners of the folded package. As a result, it is more difficult to store fitted or contour sheets because, when so folded, they do not result in a package of uniform thickness. Two persons are typically required to quickly and satisfactorily fold a fitted sheet. Consequently, many women hesitate to purchase and use fitted sheets, even though they are very presentable on a bed and serve their intended function of remaining in a secure position over the mattress.
Various devices and methods for enabling one person to fold both flat and fitted bedsheets and blankets are known in the prior art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,905,367 to Coutu describes a device for folding a freshly-ironed sheet that eliminates the need for a second person. U.S. Pat. No. 3,236,425 to Sipe describes a device and method for aiding in folding contour sheets. U.S. Pat. No. 3,510,031 to Robinson describes an apparatus employing a foot pedal for use in folding sheets and other laundry flatwork. U.S. Pat. No. 3,538,555 to Langston describes a spring-tensioned device for vertically stretching one edge of a sheet to be folded. U.S. Pat. No. 3,689,059 to Gross describes a foot-operated laundry folding accessory. U.S. Pat. No. 3,713,643 to Gerstenberger describes a foot-actuated electrical device for holding one edge of a bedsheet in a taut vertical position. U.S. Pat. No. 3,884,459 to Gunn et al. describes a complex foot-operated electromechanical apparatus for assisting a person while folding a bedsheet. U.S. Pat. No. 3,984,036 to Fritschi describes an apparatus for aiding in folding and pleating sheets and blankets. U.S. Pat. No. 3,994,485 describes a foot-operated electromechanical floor console for use in folding laundry sheets. U.S. Pat. No. 4,018,368 to Haldi describes a foot-operated device that holds one edge of a bedsheet in a taut vertical position to facilitate manual folding thereof. U.S. Pat. No. 5,816,434 to Weinsein describes a sheet folding aid that employs an outwardly protruding folding bar mounted in a fixed position to a vertical base.
In accordance with the illustrated preferred embodiment of the present invention, a fitted bedsheet folding aid includes a telescoping left rod assembly having a pair of door hangers attached thereto for supporting the fitted bedsheet folding aid over the top of a door. A telescoping right rod assembly longitudinally abuts the left rod assembly and is attached thereto by means of a hinge to permit the right rod assembly to be rotated clockwise 180 degrees away from the door from an open position in which it is longitudinally aligned with the left rod assembly to a closed position in front of the left rod assembly. The length of each of the telescoping rod assemblies is adjustable to accommodate king, queen, double or twin fitted sheets. A spring-loaded tip member at each end of the telescoping rod assemblies is urged outwardly to maintain taut a sheet spanning the telescoping rod assemblies. A spring clip mounted on the left rod assembly proximate the hinge provides a point of attachment of the top edges of the sheet spanning the telescoping rod assemblies midway along the span.